


The King and I in Corea

by TypedUpMusings



Category: The King: Eternal Monarch, 더 킹：영원의 군주 | The King: Eternal Monarch (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Gen, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-21
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:08:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26551867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TypedUpMusings/pseuds/TypedUpMusings
Summary: Read as standalone or as companion to The Two.Each chapter is a different vantage to Lee Gon and Tae-eul's lives.
Comments: 8
Kudos: 63





	1. Jo Yeong | Part 1

It is not that I dislike Jeong Tae-eul. Over time, I have actually come to admire and respect her. But it hasn’t always been that way. Definitely not at first.

I dislike chaos. And I loathe uncertainty. I’ve spent my adult years dealing in facts, while mastering the art of anticipation. Pyeha can be a handful at times already, making my job of anticipating his every move challenging. The arrival of Jeong Tae-eul in His Majesty’s life just threw my carefully constructed system into complete chaos.

Not helping matters also, was her pointing my P30 at the King as an unsettling first impression.

I had initially thought Pyeha’s search for Lieutenant Jeong Tae-eul was a pipe dream from his childhood. He believed Jeong Tae-eul had a hand in saving his life. Fair enough – but she wouldn’t be His Majesty’s type for romantic pursuit. She didn’t look like a science person and she wouldn’t get along well with Pyeha even if she were found – or so I told Head Court Lady Noh a lifetime ago.

I do not like to eat my words. I like surprises even less.

But surprises seemed the norm when it came to how His Majesty would behave around her. How he could be so head over heels was beyond me – even if I admittedly lacked dating experience.

* * *

The Lee Gon I innocently befriended and grew up with was decisive, confident and always a charmer to everyone around him. But he was also very closed-off. Even though we had done almost everything together since I was four – riding, fencing, martial arts, boxing, shooting, military training – and we were inseparable even before I was old enough to officially become the Unbreakable Sword to the King, Pyeha had rarely opened up about his feelings.

His change after Jeong Tae-eul’s first visit to the Palace was so noticeable. He would hint about her at every chance and even described to me how his heart felt. I had almost wanted to check him for an imposter.

* * *

I did have my reservation when Jeong Tae-eul clearly became more important in His Majesty’s life. As the King’s sworn protector, I cringe at any risks His Majesty would take. Naturally, I was appalled by what the King was willing to risk for Jeong Tae-eul and her world. I could believe there was genuine feeling between them and the absurdity of a parallel universe, but I couldn’t see a future for two people that belonged in two separate worlds.

Leave it for the King and his future Queen to defy those odds though – and those odds have been steep.

I was not convinced at first Jeong Tae-eul had it in her.

Yes, she had shown herself to be a decent detective. But the crazy repercussions from Lee Lim’s schemes and the extremes Pyeha was prepared to go to right the wrongs would have even the brave run for the hills.

She had no reason to be invested in that shameful history of the Kingdom. Her life would have been uncomplicated if it weren’t for the King. She could have carried on without a care and let those from the Kingdom deal with the mess created by one of their own. She could have. She should have. Most would have.

But not her.

Turns out she’d rather put herself through Hell and back. And she did. At least that’s how His Majesty put it.

She refused to leave things to fate. She left everything on the line when she made herself the one to send Lee Lim back through the gate. And afterwards found herself lost in her world with altered history and without the people most important to her.

She held on. She didn’t give up. And she saved my King, again.

I had feared the worst. Ironically though, it wasn’t when I decided to join His Majesty to change history.

It started when the King came back for me after beheading Lee Lim and took me back through the portal to present time Kingdom of Corea so I could recover from my injuries. I did not see the exuberant monarch I had expected who had just defeated the traitor. Instead, the sadness I saw in my best friend’s eyes when he told me he had to go, haunts me to this day.

In the year that followed, Pyeha was away from the palace more than half the time and he let me concoct whatever excuse I could to satisfy the Royal Court and Lady Noh every time he left. Even when he was at the palace, I could sense his desperation seething beneath his deceivingly poised facade.

All he was willing to tell me was that he couldn’t find the door back to Jeong Tae-eul. He had promised to find her and she had promised to wait for him if she could at all help it. The longer his search went on, the less hopeful he became and the more his sadness deepened.

I was seriously afraid how utterly devastated he would be if he couldn’t get back to his Lieutenant Jeong Tae-eul after all. And time, unfortunately, would not be on his side.

But then one day last Spring, the spark in his eyes suddenly returned and the doom that had hung over him for so long lifted. I wanted to ask but he said it to me first.

“I found her! She really has been waiting, all this time. And she remembers – everything!” Then I saw that smile that I hadn’t seen in months appear. I let out a sigh of relief. And I silently thanked whichever celestial being that had been watching over them.

I might still get annoyed when I had to deal with His Majesty’s regular weekend “getaway”. But I suppose that is a small price to repay Jeong Tae-eul for saving my friend.

I do worry for them – living in two separate worlds is hardly a viable future, for them or for the Kingdom. But I also know choosing someone else who is not Jeong Tae-eul will never be an option for my King.

So as his friend, and as his subject, I have decided to respect what makes him happy.

* * *

  
Imagine my surprise when Pyeha told Lady Noh and me their news – and for once, I did not hate this particular surprise.

Then she asked for my help.

And yes, I am going to do everything I can to help her.

Because Jeong Tae-eul was brave enough to protect that unbreakable bond she shared with His Majesty, the thought of death, the impenetrable loneliness, that followed him all his life had both finally been cast away.

* * *

  
Come to think of it, I quite like the idea of a kick-ass Queen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You meet angsty Jo Yeong in this chapter. I promise if I write a Part 2, it would be lighter. I'm dying to explore what a fun Jo Yeong might look like. He was a fun child when we first saw him in Episode 1!  
> This chapter was written to be a companion piece to Chapter 3 of The Two - but it certainly can stand on its own.
> 
> When I started writing Lee Gon and Jeong Tae-eul's story, I've always planned to offer a different vantage point through another character ~ something I've really enjoyed writing in my previous fanfics. So leave me comments to tell me your take.  
>   
> Perhaps I should have stated this, based on ep16, my head canon says: Jo Yeong has memory of everything before the reset. He talked about Eun-sup and the twin siblings with LG. Lady Noh, however, does not. She doesn’t recognize Tae-eul when they “meet” inside the palace.


	2. Jo Yeong | Part 2

Thank goodness I survived last week pretty much unscathed.

I have thought I’m good at keeping secrets. My friendship with the King and my job as his Unbreakable Sword demand it. But trying to do that with a girlfriend who shares both your professional and your personal space is nearly impossible. I could have slipped up if I so much as casting a wrong glance, showing an unexpected facial expression or simply laughing at the wrong joke.

There is a price to everything. Being the King’s sidekick while he restored balance between two worlds and having your memory intact afterwards meant there was a whole other lifetime to never be spoken of – not to my family and not to my girlfriend.

She will never know I have met her before I met her.

She will never know I was intrigued by her but I never acted on my attraction.

She will never know I have met her doppelgänger, and mine, in a different but parallel universe.

One thing I learned from the whole ordeal with the traitor though, is that not everything can be planned and it is important to seize the day. So in a strange way, my new world felt almost like a second chance – and I have decided to act on my feelings this time.

Myeong Seung-a is now my girlfriend because I asked if she wanted to watch a movie together nine months ago.

Having a steady girlfriend is a new experience for me. Keeping secrets from His Majesty is also a new experience. Luckily, the arrival of my twin siblings has provided the perfect coverage for my reduced availability during off-duty hours.

I like it though – being in a relationship. I have had dates, throughout high school and university, but nothing serious. Once I finished my military training, I was officially made the Captain of the Royal Guards. Since then, my King, my country and my team have become all consuming. My job does allow me to meet lots of women but I wasn’t interested in anyone, until I met her. She is a fun mix of straightforward and shy, worldly and innocent – and can have me completely under her spell when no one is watching.

We love going around Busan looking for the best naengmyeong and we enjoy strolling along Gwangalli Beach at night. And she is always taking pictures – of everything, our noodle bowls, our latte drinks, the beach, the moon, the ocean, my baby siblings. She so detests the lackluster camera roll on my phone, she has insisted on filling it with selcas and close-ups.

Aside from my innate loyalty to my childhood friend, I never knew I could feel so deeply, or laugh so freely. I never realized my own loneliness when I spent all my energy worrying about Pyeha’s. Once I could see that he was no longer alone, I was finally forced to face mine.

Sharing my life, and my babysitting duties, with someone is something I had to learn – but it is so much better than I’d imagined. It scares me a little that it hasn’t even been a year yet and I already can’t remember not having a girlfriend or not feeling giddy about her. I certainly hope I don’t get as head over heels as Pyeha is with Lieutenant Jeong Tae-eul, but I can now admit he does make it look somewhat desirable to be that in love.

While we have agreed it is best to keep our relationship a secret at work, I find myself oddly excited by our clandestine brush of hands while passing each other in the hallway and the subtle look we exchange when we happen to be in the same space. But being in a relationship with someone from work also concerns me. It goes beyond the need to keep a stoic front. I am the King’s Unbreakable Sword and my focus must solely be on protecting him – and now his future Queen as well. That means Seung-a cannot be my priority whenever I’m with His Majesty. Not to mention all the hidden truth I swore I’d take to my grave. I feel like I’m shortchanging my girlfriend whenever my answer to her question is “you know I can’t talk about that…”

Why this past week has been like walking on thin ice. For the past year, I have been His Majesty’s accomplice in covering up his disappearance every weekend. I deflected every time Lady Noh or my girlfriend became curious. But Pyeha had to up the ante by sharing his engagement and Lieutenant Jeong Tae-eul’s move to the kingdom with only Lady Noh and myself. The entire Royal Court was abuzz with speculations about the woman staying in the King’s chambers and I would only shake my head whenever Seung-a shot me an inquisitive look. I was especially torn last Wednesday when she turned into a nervous wreck after being asked to meet privately with His Majesty Thursday morning. I was so tempted to at least give her some hints to calm her but I kept mum. She did well though, once she recovered from the initial shock of the news and the job she was tasked. She didn’t blame me – only knowing looks and dramatic sighs throughout the evening when she volunteered me to help her prep for the engagement portrait assignment.

As if I wasn’t already squeezed enough, I of course had to attend all the photography sessions with the royal couple while trying my darndest to not cast a wrong glance at my girl and tip off the detective or my boss. There were a few close calls for sure – Seung-a was so ambitious in getting the desired look and feel for the pictures she physically put herself in precarious positions and I had to use every restraint to not seem more than reasonably concerned. I did have enough foresight to have Park In-Young, one of my most trusted guards, in charge of her safety. I was probably over-anxious anyway since Pyeha and Miss Jeong were so happy in their own bubble during the shoot to pay anyone or anything else much attention. 

Perhaps I should have stopped giving my best friend such a hard time for being besotted – you reap what you sow is right. And just now Seung-a and I are starting to suspect His Majesty is getting suspicious.

Earlier tonight her phone buzzed shortly after we had dinner.

“Oh my god, what is this?” She said looking at her phone in disbelief. “Why did Pyeha text me directly about a meeting at nine tomorrow morning? It has always been through Lady Noh, or Secretary Cho at…”

“Wait,” I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. “He texted me too. Same thing. Nine o’clock meeting.”

“Just us?”

“I can’t tell. His text was only to me, but you got it too.”

“You think he’s on to us? Is that why he wants to meet with us?”

“I doubt it… There’s so much going on in his life right now he wouldn’t have time to pay attention to what we do. But I’m going to try and find out.”

“How?”

“I’m texting him back…” I told her as my fingers constructed a response.

_Do you need my team at the meeting? Is it a briefing?_

She looked over my shoulder as I waited for his reply.

“Maybe you should tell him,” she turned towards me. “You hate keeping things from him anyway.”

I do hate keeping things from him, but I also hate keeping things from her. Perhaps it is time for me to come clean – that way I can set some ground rules with Pyeha regarding the few things, I hope, I would never share with another living soul.

“Are you sure you’re ready for him and Miss Jeong to know? I have no doubt when His Majesty finds out, Miss Jeong will as well,” I have to be sure since she has started to work more with our future queen and I know why Lieutenant Jeong has a special affinity to Seung-a. I won’t be at all surprised if she would soon become one of the queen’s confidantes.

“My colleagues always tease me about giving you heart eyes anyway…” I can see the slight blush on her cheeks and she looks absolutely mesmerizing.

“I’m pretty bewitched by you myself,” I wrap my arm around her shoulder. “Ho-pil caught me staring at you a couple seconds too long on a few occasions and told me more than once I should go for it.” I smile up at her.

My phone buzzes again with his brief reply.

“Pyeha wants to meet with just the two of us then? I think he knows.”

“We don’t know Lady Noh or Secretary Cho wouldn’t be there. Okay, I’ll find out from Jang Mi-reuk if Miss Jeong has asked for him to be there.”

* * *

  
“Did she ask for him?”

“Jang Mi-reuk said he hasn’t been asked so he assumes she will have her regular morning lessons with Pyeha.”

“So it’s just us…” Her face splits into a wide smile, “No matter, let’s just tell them. It’s not like we’re doing anything wrong! As exciting as it is to sneak around, I’d rather not have to constantly worry about people finding out.”

Myeong Seung-a pauses for a moment before continuing, “I have every excuse to fall for the best looking guy in the palace.”

“Make sure you don’t say that to Pyeha even if it’s true…”

"And you can finally put those gay rumors to rest!" She winks at me.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally - the lighter Jo Yeong chapter I promised long ago!
> 
> Again this can be read standalone, but the setting and events flow with the story timeline of The Two.
> 
> How do you enjoy seeing this side of JY? Do you think they should clue Lee Gon and Tae-eul in about them dating?
> 
> By the way, if you’re all caught up with The Two, you may imagine our Royal Couple chuckling in their chambers - Tae-eul isn’t quite done with her “payback” when it comes to Jo Yeong.


End file.
